Negative feedback loop for defect management of plant protection ticket screening
AssigneeAT&T Corp.
InventorMichael L. Asher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This is a method for use in automated screening of tickets for plant protection based on negative feedback from past performance. In particular this invention provides an automated screening process that takes a dig ticket address from a ticket request and correlates it to known cable locations to determine which ticket dig addresses are too close to the buried fiber. This is done using a method that balances the risk of extra labor charges due to a Type I error with the risk of costs associated with a cable cut due to a Type II error.
Claims20
A method for screening dig request alerts in an underground plant protection system, to identify involved dig requests, the method comprising the steps of:
- collecting, by an automated computer, historical error data containing dig request screening, by an automated computer, errors and containing geographical locations of those errors;
- receiving, by an automated computer, a dig request alert containing location information of a planned excavation;
- determining, by an automated computer, a bounded zone containing locations satisfying the location information;
- scaling, by an automated computer, the bounded zone based on the historical error data that contains geographical locations in a same geographical region as the dig request location information;
- and
- if the scaled bounded zone overlaps an underground plant buffer zone, then identifying, by an automated computer, the dig alert as involved.
A computer-usable medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon for execution by a processor to perform a method for screening dig request alerts in an underground plant protection system, to identify involved dig requests, the method comprising the steps of:
- collecting, by said computer-usable medium, historical error data containing dig request screening, by said computer-usable medium, errors and containing geographical locations of those errors;
- receiving, by said computer-usable medium, a dig request alert containing location information of a planned excavation;
- determining, by said computer-usable medium, a bounded zone containing locations satisfying the location information;
- scaling, by said computer-usable medium, the bounded zone based on the historical error data that contains geographical locations in a same geographical region as the dig request location information;
- and
- if the scaled bounded zone overlaps an underground plant buffer zone, then identifying, by said computer-usable medium, the dig alert as involved.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.